09TBILISI488, GEORGIA: READOUT OF DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER’S

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000488
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2019
TAGS: PRELPGOVIRGGRUGG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: READOUT OF DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER'S
VISIT TO TEHRAN
TBILISI 00000488 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Alexander Nalbandov told the Ambassador that his March 1-3
visit to Tehran concentrated on issues of bilateral
cooperation. In Tehran, Nalbandov, together with Minister
for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili, met with Chair of the
Parliamentary Commission on National Security and Foreign
Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hossein Sheikholislam, and Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki. While the meetings were publicly touted
as deepening the Georgian-Iranian relationship, Nalbandov
said he felt many of the messages delivered to him were
intended for the U.S. and that much of what was said by
Iranian officials regarding the August conflict and Georgia
had come directly from the Russians. END SUMMARY.
BOROUJERDI ) U.S. TROOPS OUT, AFGHANISTAN A MESS
¶2. (C) Parliamentarian Boroujerdi told Nalbandov that while
Iran welcomed the end of a dictatorship in Iraq, they
supported an immediate removal of foreign armed forces from
Iraqi territory. He said Iran deeply hopes that the new U.S.
administration will quickly withdraw U.S. forces. Boroujerdi
said Iran is increasingly concerned over the situation in
Afghanistan, as they see a dramatic increase in drug
production and trafficking, something that directly benefits
and strengthens the Taliban and Al Qaeda. He stressed that
NATO is ineffective in Afghanistan and that he is not
convinced that President Obama,s decision to strengthen
military operations will put an end to drug trafficking.
Boroujerdi said that Iranian concern is growing over the
Taliban-controlled sections of Pakistan -- and he directly
tied the Taliban's resurgence to failed military operations
in Afghanistan. He told the Georgians that conflict in the
region was a result of failed Bush administration policies.
Boroujerdi also raised the case of arms smuggler Ardabil whom
Georgia extradited to the U.S., saying that Georgia should
help repatriate him to Iran as a sign of its commitment to
the Georgia-Iran relationship.
SHEIKHOLISLAM ) RETURN ARDABIL AND MORE RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA
¶3. (C) Sheikholislam, who had been Nalbandov,s direct
contact on Ardabil in the past, stressed that the arms
smuggler must be returned. He went so far as to threaten
that if Georgia did not act on this, "what options would Iran
have?" Sheikholislam said that the U.S. is Georgia's partner
and that Georgia should make the U.S. understand that
extraditing Ardabil was not the right step and should be
reversed. Nalbandov, however, stressed that he was in Tehran
to talk about building a constructive relationship, something
that should not fall victim to one incident. Sheikholislam
said he understood, but that Georgia must understand the
Iranian government is receiving pressure from Ardabil,s
family and others. Sheikholislam expressed hope for a more
constructive Obama administration. He said that Georgia made
a fundamental mistake in &letting its territory be turned
into a battlefield between two big states.8
Qinto a battlefield between two big states.8
¶4. (C) Sheikholislam then launched into a series of
questions that Nalbandov was certain the Russians had
planted. He first said that the Russians had informed Iran
that the U.S. was building military bases in Georgia to
conduct military operations in the region. Nalbandov assured
him that this was not the case, but that the Russians were
building bases in the occupied territories. Sheikholislam
said the Russians were concerned by Georgia's Euro-Atlantic
aspirations. He also asked if there are any anti-Iranian
military activities underway in Georgia, to which Nalbandov
replied no. During lunch, Sheikholislam asked about the
U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, saying that
the Russians had informed the Iranians that there is a secret
attachment to the document. Nalbandov once again refuted the
anti-U.S. Russian propaganda. Sheikholislam said that
Georgia should look at a multinational security forum with
Russia, and take into account Russian interests. Nalbandov
said that this was very difficult to do when Russia occupied
20 percent of Georgian territory and had troops within 40 km
of Tbilisi.
FM MOTTAKI - SPEAKING FOR THE RUSSIANS
TBILISI 00000488 002 OF 002
¶5. (C) Nalbandov said the meeting with Iranian Foreign
Minister Mottaki focused mainly on Georgia's relationship
with Russia and the August conflict. Nalbandov said when
he
arrived for the late evening meeting, the Russian Ambassador
to Iran was conspicuously departing, solidifying Nalbandov,s
belief that the Russians were instructing the Iranians on
Georgia issues. Mottaki expressed strong interest in transit
possibilities in the region, nominally for Armenia and
Azerbaijan, but clearly, according to Nalbandov, for Iran as
well. Mottaki asked if the Georgian transport system )
ports, railways, roads ) continued to experience any
problems following the August conflict, to which Nalbandov
answered no. Mottaki was also interested in the Georgian
opinion on the Russian-Ukrainian gas problems from earlier
this winter. Nalbandov stressed to him that this episode
showed the Europeans that Russia is not a reliable partner
and that they need diversification. Mottaki asked what the
best possible future is for Georgian-Russian relations.
Nalbandov said the Georgians are ready to discuss relations,
but they can not sacrifice the territorial integrity of the
country. Mottaki then asked if the European Union, United
Nations, or United States intended to introduce sanctions
against Russia, Nalbandov skirted the question, instead
stressing that Georgia needs to have territorial integrity
respected and restored. The two then discussed the Turkish
stability platform proposal for the region aimed at
preventing future conflict. Mottaki said this proposal made
him nervous, and that &we8 in the region should solve our
own problems without outside interference.
FUTURE VISITS?
¶6. (C) Both Motaki and Sheikholislam raised the question of
a visit to Iran by Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze,
as well as the possibility of Georgian Prime Minister Nika
Gilauri coming to Tehran. Nalbandov said he avoided
mentioning any details, saying that Vashadze,s visit would
not be expedient, and that the FM would come at the correct
time. During a Vashadze visit they could discuss a possible
PM trip. The Iranians appeared to welcome the message,
noting that a FM trip would be best after the upcoming
Iranian elections. Mottaki also said that Iran would be very
interested in resuming a joint economic council with Georgia.
Sheikholislam also discussed deepening the parliamentary
relationship between the two countries.
COMMENT: MESSAGES TO THE U.S., SPEAKING FOR THE RUSSIANS
¶7. (C) Nalbandov sensed that many of the messages the
Iranian leadership delivered were meant for a secondary U.S.
audience, and that they may have been directly dictated by
the Russians. Key among these was the message that any new
sanctions against Iran will fail. Boroujerdi, Sheikholislam,
and Mottaki all mentioned the case of arms smuggler Ardabil,
urging Georgia to do the &right thing,8 and ask the U.S. to
return him and then hand him over to Iran. Nalbandov said
that while several officials stressed that the future of
Georgia's relationship with Iran was dependent on this, he
QGeorgia's relationship with Iran was dependent on this, he
felt their mentioning of this case was more of a
check-the-box requirement than an actual impediment.
Boroujerdi delivered the message that Iran wants U.S. troops
out of the region immediately and that the U.S. is to blame
for chaos in the region. The Russians also appeared to use
Iran as a proxy to get answers to questions such as the
possibility of sanctions and Georgia's thoughts on the future
of the relationship. The Iranians, it appears, also seemed
to use Nalbandov's visit to question Russian-spread
information on supposed aggressive U.S. moves in the region
including military bases in Georgia and anti-Iranian
activities in Georgia. Nalbandov shared his personal
impressions of the visit, in particular that he was surprised
by the staggering poverty in Tehran. He added that while all
official meetings were conducted in Farsi and Georgian, all
side discussions, including with the Minister were conducted
in English.
TEFFT

The information recorded on this site has been extracted from http://Wikileaks.org (Georgia) database..

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